The Week That Was…

Published 8:00 pm, Wednesday, March 31, 2010

These are just a few of my thoughts on what has transpired at the state and national levels in sports during the past week.

Back where they belong…

…If it seems like Michigan State is in the Final Four every year, that’s because the Spartans usually are.

For the sixth time in 12 years, they clinched a spot in the Final Four.

At the beginning of the season, MSU making it back to the ‘Dance’ wouldn’t have come as a surprise. The team returned a ton of talent from the squad which was the national runner-up last year.

But the Spartans struggled, and fell to a No. 5 seed. Their reward was being placed in the most loaded region, which included heavily favored Kansas.

As it turns out, they never had to deal with the Jayhawks after Northern Iowa bounced them on the first weekend.

Ohio State fell before the regional final, opening up the path to the Final Four. Tennessee put up a good fight, but watching the game, I never got the feeling the Spartans were going to lose that contest.

When Kalin Lucas was lost for the season in the second game of the tournament, the so-called experts wrote MSU off.

What they didn’t take into consideration was the Spartans have the best tournament coach in basketball with Tom Izzo — and they have players who never quit.

Korie Lucious has done a very admirable job filling in for Lucas. Delvon Roe has been nothing short of macho for playing with his injured knee, while players like Raymar Morgan, Durrell Summers and Draymond Green have all stepped up.

Players play the game, but I think Izzo deserves most of the credit for this return trip to the Final Four. When other teams would have been lost without their leader, Izzo rallied his players — and they bought in.

This is not the most talented group Izzo has ever led to the Final Four, but it may be the toughest.

Staying or going?

…Reports surfaced this week that Oregon was set to offer Izzo its coaching job and make him the highest paid in college basketball.

Izzo has remained focused on winning another national championship, but it has been a distraction for him and the team.

Every interview he’s done this week, Izzo has been asked about if he’s staying or going. Each time, he says he’s happy where he is.

While I don’t blame Oregon for wanting Izzo, I think it’s a little classless to put such a story out there while the man is trying to prepare his team for the Final Four. For me, it would be a deal-breaker that a potential employer is making it more difficult to do my present job.

If Izzo is going to leave MSU, I don’t see him going to Oregon. Really, I don’t see him leaving at all.

Michigan State officials better be taking notice, though, and perhaps shoot a little more money Izzo’s way just to be safe. He’s earned it, and deserves to be taken care of.

Messing with perfection…

…At this point, it’s not worth mentioning my picks. This tournament was so unpredictable, it’s the first time in 15 years that I didn’t at least predict one Final Four team.

It’s quite a quartet of teams. On one side, you have two No. 5 seeds, on the other is a No. 2, playing without its point guard, and the “weakest” No. 1 in the tournament.

This year’s tournament has shown us one thing: When you make teams enter a playoff to see who’s the best, anything can happen, and the best teams aren’t always what we thought they were.

Yet, rumors continue to swirl that the tournament will expand from 65 teams to 96.

I realize that it has expanded many times in the past, and each time, critics said it didn’t need to be done. In its current format, the NCAA basketball tournament is the most perfect playoff system in sports. Not even the NFL playoffs create the kind of excitement that the first days the Big Dance does.

Now, they want to add another 31 teams that have no chance to win and take that away.

Why?

It’s not for competitive balance, it’s all about money.

The NCAA has it all wrong here. It shouldn’t be focused on expanded this tournament, it should be focused on fixing its football postseason.

Football is the only major NCAA sport without a playoff system. I contend that a college football playoff would be as big, if not bigger, than the basketball tournament.

Tiger to talk…

…Apparently, Tiger Woods reads my column.

Last week, I called for him to face the press. On Monday, he will do just that at Augusta National.

It will be interesting to see how the real media treats him.

I’m sure it will be respectful, but Tiger will have to give at least a few answers.

Monday’s press conference (if we can call it that) is a step in the right direction. I still expect to hear a lot of no comments, or “that’s private.” But at least he’s facing the media.

Robertson traded…

…I respect Nate Robertson. He pitched well in spurts for the Tigers, but the team had to do something with him.

He was vastly overpaid, making around $10 million this year.

On Tuesday, he was traded to Florida for a minor league lefty. The Tigers will eat most of his salary, but they would have done so either way, so it’s better to get something in return.

The rotation looks to be in order with Robertson gone as Jeremy Bonderman and Dontrelle Willis will likely fill the final two spots. I only hope there’s a backup plan, because there’s no way Bonderman and Willis are going to make 30 starts each this season.

Paul P. Adams is a sports writer for the Huron Daily Tribune and can be reached at (989) 269-6464 ext. 112 or at padams@hearstnp.com